


King of the Tauntauns

by White_Rainbow



Category: Dredd (2012), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Presents, Fluffy, Like just the fluffiest, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-05
Updated: 2017-07-05
Packaged: 2018-11-28 04:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11410104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/White_Rainbow/pseuds/White_Rainbow
Summary: Hux helps Kylo make the perfect present for Techie's birthday / Kylo reveals to Techie he is actually not named Matt.





	King of the Tauntauns

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChristophInTheNightSky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChristophInTheNightSky/gifts).



> Happy birthday Chris! We haven't known each other long but you have helped me tremendously through some hard times and I hope you accept this as a birthday present and a gift to show my gratitude ❤️

Lights exploded.

Panels flew across down the hallway.

The floor trembled.

The whole level shook as if in the aftershock of a mighty quake.

“What. Is. Happening?” General Hux demanded, catching one of the officers fleeing down the corridor.

“It’s coming from Lord Ren’s quarters, sir!”

“...of course it is.” Hux sighed, letting go of the officer who gave a quick salute before scurrying away.

Hux dodged a panel easily.

He stepped around the shattered glass of a light fixture.

Calmly he buzzed the panel next to Kylo’s door. 

Everything fell quiet. 

An electrical spark popped as an afterthought in the distance.

Slowly, the door opened with a menacing hiss. Hux rolled his eyes, knowing Kylo had adjusted the door to open slower than normal to add some dramatic flare.

Hux was surprised to see Kylo was not pacing, nor was he lying prone on his bed in a fever dream, and he did not even have his temperamental light blade out.

Instead the knight was hunched over his seldom-used desk.

He was not in his robes, dressed only in a white tank shirt and dark gray jumpsuit with the sleeves tied around his waist. His hair was braided back away from his face, accentuating his sharp, awkwardly handsome features. He was biting his lip as his fingers shakily fumbled over a mess of copper wiring.

“Ren?” Hux asked carefully, not wanting to be flung across the room like a loose panel. 

“What?” Kylo snapped. 

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like?” Kylo snarled. His hands slipped and there was a soft  _ ping _ as a clump of metal wires broke. Hux heard something clatter out in the hallway and sighed.

“I do not know, that is why I am asking.”

“Oh…” Kylo’s shoulders slumped. He looked up at Hux with glassy, dark eyes. “I can’t do this. This is  _ kriffing  _ stupid and I can’t do it.”

“Okay…” Hux pulled up a chair and seating himself beside the knight. “What is it you cannot do?”

Kylo hung his head. “A dumb tauntaun.”

And then it all made sense. “So that  ‘Matt’ can give my brother a birthday present?”

Kylo nodded. “He loves tauntauns,” he said quietly. “Why can’t he like something easy like a stupid space slug, something with a less complicated shape?”

Hux actually considered the question seriously. “We once took a trip with our father to Hoth to honor the victory of the Old Empire against the Rebellion. Bren wandered into the tauntaun enclosure, which terrified everyone, as we thought he was going to get crushed beneath them. But he’s always had a calming presence with animals. We found him asleep, nestled against a pair of snoozing tauntauns, with his arm wrapped around a baby. He missed the tour, but he was far happier in that enclosure than out shivering in a fallen AT-AT. I believe that is where his obsession started.”

Kylo looked blankly at Hux. “Huh…” he looked down at the pile of wiring. “Give me your hand.” 

“What?” Hux said already recoiling.

Kylo rolled his eyes. “Just, give it to me okay? Help me out.”

Hux sighed and put his delicate hand in Kylo’s big sweaty paws.

“Alright now...” Kylo held his free hand over the tangle of copper wiring and closed his eyes. “...Think about how Techie looked.”

Hux shut his eyes. He imagined how Bren’s bright orange hair lay across his pasty face while he slept. His little fragile arms were holding the small tauntaun protectively despite it being bigger and stronger than he. And best of all, he remembered Bren’s small smile, a smile Bren rarely wore when he was awake, a smile saved only for when he was alone building his electrical gadgets, making wire animals, or when Armitage would tell him tales of the old Empire’s glory days. 

“Done!” Kylo said, slamming the table suddenly. Though the noise was meant as a victory, Hux about shot out of his seat in alarm.    
“Ren…” Hux breathed. The mess of wires had completely rearranged itself, bending and twisting and forming into a perfect rendition of what Hux envisioned. He even allowed for a small strand of wavy “hair” across Techie’s face as he was curled between two large tauntauns. “He will love it.”

“Yeah?” Kylo looked down on it. “I just want it to be perfect for him. It’s our first...I mean...it’s Matt and his first…” 

Hux felt for Kylo. He wished the knight would come clean with Techie about who he truly was, but he understood his worry that Techie would be frightened of a powerful Force-user being enamoured with him. 

Matt made Techie immensely happy. And it seemed Techie also softened the edges around Kylo’s temperament on the  _ Finalizer _ .

_ Except when he is throwing a tantrum over making a perfect gift for my little brother,  _ Hux sighed.

“I’ll fix the hallway,” Kylo said suddenly.

“I know you will.” Hux said, more firmly than he meant to. “And thank you.”

“I, uh...better get Matt ready.” 

“Kylo…” Hux said as Kylo began to rise. “Tell him soon, the truth I mean.”

Kylo nodded. “I will...maybe...well not tonight though...let Matt have one last night with him and then, I’ll figure something out, okay? I promise. I don’t mean to lie to him. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

Hux sighed. “I was not overly fond of...well  _ any  _ of this. But...you - he - brought my brother out of that nightmarish anxiety that kept him locked away for so long. You’ve been able to find that smile I thought I would never see again after that Hoth trip. I know my brother well. I can promise you he will...care...for you as much as he does for Matt.”

Kylo bowed his head, as if mulling it over. “Thank you, Hux. You know I’ll always protect him.”

Hux nodded. “Of course you will.” Then as an afterthought, uncomfortable with the familiarity he added. “Because the Starkiller will be waiting if you break his sweet heart.”

Kylo held up his hands, but didn’t get rid of his grin. “I know better than to cross my Techie’s older brother.”

Hux harrumphed, but afforded Kylo a small smile. “Good luck tonight, ‘Matt.’”

Kylo slipped on the wig and glasses one final time with a sigh. “Thank you, general.”

\-----

Techie was crying. 

His nose and eyes were redder than the Tattooine suns and smile was brighter than both. He held the wire figurines replica to his cheek, nuzzling it carefully. 

“You made this for me?” Techie sniffled, his mechanical blue eyes whirring softly as he wept. 

Matt shrugged and hunkered a little self-consciously. “Yeah. Is it okay?”

“It is  _ perfect _ ! I didn’t even know you knew how to make these, Matty!” Techie lunged for...well, he  _ started _ to lunge for Matt. He paused first to place the wire art down on the bed  _ then  _ proceeded to lunge at Matt. “Thank you so much!” He squealed, peppering Matt’s face with soft kisses.

“Alright, alright,” Matt huffed, blushing brightly. “I’m glad you like it.”

Techie sat back on the mattress, bouncing a little as he wiped his eyes. “Did Armie tell you about the tauntauns?”

“You mean that they accepted you as one of their own and now you King of the Tauntauns?”

A quirky smiled twisted Techie’s small, plush lips. “Noooo…” he said, bashfully, tucking his long red hair behind one ear. 

“I never imagine I’d fall for royalty,” Matt gushed, leaning over and kissing Techie’s cheek. “I wonder if your loyal subjects will accept me into your kingdom.”

“Maaaatt,” Techie blushed brightly. “You’re making fun!”

Matt gasped. “I would never make fun of King Bren of Techie, Wampa Slayer and Warrior King of the Hoth Wastelands.”

Techie giggled so hard he began to snort. Then his snorting propelled him into more giggles.

Matt sat back quietly with a tender smile as he watched Techie thoroughly enjoy himself. He was in a good mood, a  _ great  _ mood actually, happy tears streaking his soft cheeks, small round belly full of birthday cake, hair tied up with yellow and orange ribbons his older brother gave him earlier. 

Maybe it was time...

Was it better to tell Techie who he really was while he was in a good mood? Or risk telling him on one of his more anxiety-ridden days.

Honestly, Kylo knew there was no good time.

A knot formed in Kylo’s belly.

“Tech...I have something to tell you,” Matt said, taking Techie’s slender hands in his.

Techie blinked. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, of course not. Never.” Matt shook his head. “I...I did something wrong. Well, something I thought was right...I…” 

“Matty?” Techie bounced softly towards Matt on his little mattress. “You can tell me anything.”

“I’m not…” Matt drew in a deep breath. “I’m not...a radar technician.”

“Oh,” Techie frowned. “Well, okay, I mean you are not that good at it, true, but…”

“What? I’m a great tech! I...wait no, that’s not what I’m getting at,” Matt sighed. “I am...not...Matt. I mean my name. It...it isn’t Matt.” Kylo felt nauseous, his head buzzed with dread. He didn’t dare reach out with the Force...not yet...to feel Techie’s mood, but it did not take any mystical force to sense the confusion in the younger Hux.

“I’m Kylo Ren,” Matt blurted, ripping off his blonde wig like he would a bandage. His hair was still done up in braids, but loose strands of black hair fell down, framing his face. 

He waited for Techie to gasp, to cry, to run…

_ Please...don’t run… _

“Oh,” Techie said confused, then his eyes widened, his mouth widened, his arms went up in the air. “Oh! My! This is shocking! I am shocked and...It is very shocking!”

Kylo frowned. This wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. 

“You are shocked…” He said, skeptically.

“Very! I had no idea! I mean...where did Matt go!” Techie scrunched his face in a small wince, as if hoping Kylo was buying his very unconvincing act.

“You knew…” Kylo said, flatly.

“I did...yes...” Techie curled his hair behind his ears again. “I didn’t know you didn’t know I knew? I mean...I thought we were...that it was helping you approach me. And so I went with it.”

Kylo threw his arms in the air. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were so much more comfortable as Matt, Kylo! You smiled and you laughed and you didn’t worry about being all, ya know,” Techie wiggled his fingers. “Forcey.”

Kylo slid off his glasses slowly. “All this time…”

“I should have told you I knew,” Techie admitted. “It never really occurred to me. I thought maybe ‘Matt’ was you taking a break from being a knight. It seems so stressful. I really like you…” Techie blushed. “I  _ really  _ like you…”

Kylo looked up. “Even though I am...who I am? You aren’t afraid of me?”

Techie shrugged. “You’re still Matty to me. You don’t pretend very well. Even walking around in your scary robes and scary helmet, you’re still my Matty. Plus,” Techie blushed, “I feel honored someone as ‘big and scary’ as you are could like someone like me...I’m...scared a lot...and I love not being scared of you like everyone else is.”

Kylo sighed. “You’re a lot braver than you give yourself credit, Techie.”

Techie’s eyes whirred for a moment. “And you’re a lot less scary than you give yourself credit.”

Kylo smirked. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”

Techie brightened. “Okay, now that you are Kylo again can you float me in the air? I’ve been dying to ask you, but I didn’t want to bother Matty!”

Kylo grinned. “First you have to give me a kiss. You haven’t kissed Kylo y-” 

Techie tackled Kylo, and although the younger Hux weighed half of Kylo’s hulking form, Kylo still fell backwards with an exaggerated grunt. Loud, wet smacks covered Kylo’s face.

Somehow when Kylo laughed, he still felt like Matt...maybe Matt was always some kind of part of him. Not the lonely, self-conscious boy called Ben, or the angry, power-hungry knight called Ren. Matt was relaxed, confident, and could feel happy without being afraid. He felt strong around Techie, and in a way he felt safe. Safe from being judged, safe from being ridiculed, safe from being asked to do things he didn’t want to. 

And he knew Techie would never hurt him. 

“You can still call me Matty if you want…” Kylo mumbled, shyly.

“Okay! I would love that.” Techie beamed and sat back, sitting perfectly straight on the bed. “Okay, I’m ready, Matty! Float me up!”

Kylo laughed. 

And for the first time in his life, Kylo Ren used his Force abilities to make someone happy.


End file.
